Fuse boxes are utilized in many applications, one example of which being motor vehicles. Typically, fuse boxes are placed within a designated area on a motor vehicle, such as, for example, under the hood within the engine compartment or under the dashboard and near the foot area of the interior of the motor vehicle. Generally, fuse boxes house electrical fuses for individual electrical load components within the motor vehicle, such as individual lights or small electrical equipment items, and also house electrical fuses for cables carrying larger amounts of current splitting off from the fuse box for servicing entire load sections within the motor vehicle. Moreover, fuses are also used in automotive electrical systems to protect circuits against potential damage caused by overload conditions, such as a result of multiple electrical load requirements and surges occurring simultaneously. Usually, fuses for various circuits are collected together at a confluence point, known as a fuse box, a fuse relay box, a power distribution block, or a junction block.
Conventionally, a fuse box is a molded plastic structure containing electrical terminals, one or more bus bars, and various other electrical components, such as circuit breakers and diodes integrated together. The fuses are maintained in terminal sockets integrally molded on the outer surface of the fuse box. Typical automotive fuses have a generally rectangular plastic body with a pair of contacts extending from one end, and when the fuse is fully inserted into its respective terminal socket, the contacts engage electrical terminals inside of the fuse box to complete a circuit.
Each electrical subcomponent that is incorporated into a conventional electrical fuse relay box, such as a plastic box, relays, fuses (e.g., mini, maxi, J-Case), circuit breakers, and diodes, etc. (collectively referred to as “electrical components”), are ordinarily manufactured separately and purchased individually from different suppliers, and must be assembled collectively to be integrated within a finished fuse relay box. This process of assembly is often time consuming, expensive, and susceptible to errors in connections, and overall deficient quality. Moreover, conventional fuse boxes are generally manufactured without covers, and therefore are susceptible to damage.
Therefore, there is a need for a novel pre-assembled fuse box system having all electrical components preset to their correct position, and which may be readily mounted within motor vehicle compartments quickly, easily, and without error. Moreover, there is a need for a system that enables customers to receive all of the electrical components already incorporated in the fuse box without requiring further assembly of the electrical components to form a unified device.